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SINCE the dawn of the sci-fi genre, flying cars have been whizzing around the minds of engineers, scientists, and inventors.
The London-listed aerospace giant (not the luxury car manufacturing branch of the company), based in Derby, the UK, revealed this week it is developing an “electric vertical take-off and landing” vehicle, also known as EVTOL.
The EVTOL vehicle will be utilized as a taxi that can travel at speeds of up to 321km/h covering 805 kilometers.
Like other proposed EVTOLs, Rolls-Royce’s prototype will be able to take off and land vertically.
Rolls-Royce said it hoped travelers looking to dodge congested roads could be able to get in one of these four- or five-seater taxis as soon as the early 2020s.
“In this market, you will see something like this flying within three to five years, and we will demonstrate the system in two years,” Rolls-Royce head of electrical team Rob Watson told AFP at the group’s Farnborough chalet in the UK.
According to AFP, the hybrid electric vehicle has only cost Rolls-Royce single-digit millions of pounds to develop. This is relatively low considering one of its Trent 1000 plane engines costs US$16 million.
“The initial concept vehicle uses gas turbine technology to generate electricity to power six electric propulsors specially designed to have a low noise profile,” the company said in a statement.
As well as taking off and landing vertically, the taxi will have 90-degree rotating wings with six retractable propellers to reduce noise in the cabin and on the ground.
Roll-Royce has a positive record of innovating the aviation industry, from bringing the world the first turbo-prop and jet engines to advancing vertical take-off and landing technologies.
But Rolls-Royce isn’t alone in attempting to pioneer the flying taxi market.
In May, ride-sharing giant Uber announced it would be attempting to compensate US road users for adding another two million cars since it’s launch in 2009, by developing and hopefully launching its own EVTOL.
Aerospace giant Boeing has joined the flying taxi party too.
Boeing NeXt recently announed it will be partnering with outside companies to develop uncrewed vehicles and resolve air traffic control by employing blockchain and AI technologies.
“We’re at a point in history where technological advances and societal trends are converging to demand bold solutions and a different way to travel,” Boeing chief technology officer Greg Hyslop said in a statement.
As of yet, however, road traffic remains unbearable in every major city during rush hour and the commercial aviation industry is yet to find an entirely green solution to the CO2-emitting planes that travel millions of miles every day.
With the tone of flying taxis sounding the lot like the 1960s’ “Space Race,” it appears it won’t be a question of if, but rather when can people ride uncrewed flying taxis, and with what badge on the front?
The post Could Rolls-Royce produce the world’s first commercial flying taxi? appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
Source: travelwireasia.com